The greatest treasure of all
by Amy V
Summary: Pirates take Victoria hostage
1. Chapter 1

**The greatest treasure of all**

Chapter one

It was a sunny afternoon in Los Angeles.

A horse and rider followed by an impressive bull merged with the beautiful surroundings.

The relaxed rider squinted his eyes, enjoying the sunbeams warming his face,…

It was Diego de la Vega. He had been to a cattle sale; his father had decided it was time to give him more responsibility of the ranch business, so he had trusted Diego to buy a new breeding bull.

Diego hoped his father would be pleased; he had managed to get the bull for an excellent price!

So when he arrived at the hacienda after he had made sure the bull was safely in his pen, he was a bit disappointed to discover that his father and Felipe weren't home.

"They must have gone to the pueblo," he thought to himself. So he saddled a fresh horse and rode to the pueblo.

He didn't know his good mood was about to disappear….

"You'll regret that you didn't let us take what's rightfully ours!" a pirate with a red spotted bandana, captain Mack Crow sneered.

"Your treasure was buried on my territory, so therefore it belongs to the Pueblo of Los Angeles," the Alcalde calmly replied while he steadily pointed his gun at the pirate's chest. The Alcalde's foot was firmly planted on a leaden treasure chest.

But when he suddenly saw other pirates pointing muskets at him from the rooftops he immediately regretted his words.

"Do you still think that we can't have our treasure?" the pirate asked mockingly.

"If one of those savages tries to shoot me, I'll make sure I take you with me to the grave," the Alcalde replied threateningly.

"Ha, you think that I fear death. I would sacrifice my life for that treasure! The only question is would you too?" the smirking pirate asked.

Since his threat didn't seem to have effect the Alcalde called his lancers in a last desperate attempt.

Soon the whole plaza was filled with lancers and pirates pointing guns at each other.

In all the commotion Mack Crow grabbed one of the citizens. The woman immediately started squirming in an attempt to free herself from his firm grip: "Take your filthy hands of me!" Victoria Escalante demanded.

"Oh you have quite a fiery temper?" Mack said while he unsheathed his blade and pressed it against her neck. "This should keep you quiet."

"If you don't give us our treasure, we'll take one of the pueblo's treasures," Mack said while glancing at Victoria.

Don Alejandro who had witnessed the whole scene couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Alcalde, do something!" he demanded.

"I'm sorry Don Alejandro but I'm hardly in a position to bargain," he replied. "I'm afraid I must let them have their treasure."

"Finally, a wise decision! A round of applause for the Alcalde," Mack mockingly said. "Now listen carefully I'm taking this lovely senorita hostage, she will be our guarantee that we can reach our ship safely. Have I made myself clear! If I see anyone following us, you'll find her head on the dusty roads of your so called pueblo."

At that moment Diego arrived. And when he saw that his beloved was held with a knife on her throat his blood started boiling: "Release that woman this instant!" he demanded.

"Oh my, it seems you're quite popular with the fellas, if even a decent caballero speaks up for a common woman such as you," one of the other pirates said to Victoria.

Diego's stomach twitched with the thought what those pirates might do to his préciosa. He had to prevent that from happening. Maybe if they thought she was a married woman they wouldn't assault her. So he said: "I suggest you don't speak that way to my wife!" He ignored the gasps from the crowd.

"I didn't know Don Diego and Senorita Escalante got married, when did that happen?" Mendoza asked Alejandro. "I think it's part of a ridiculous plan of my son, he's trying to save Victoria," the don whispered.

Oblivious to the commotion around him Diego continued his plea: "Why don't you let me take her place, I will come willingly and I promise there will be no trouble."

"Well it seems this little the pueblo has a hero after all, alright come over here," Mack ordered.

"First release my wife," Diego insisted.

"I'm sorry that won't do, I will let her go when you are by my side. I give you my pirate's word of honour," Mack said while solemnly raising his hand in the air.

Diego had no choice, so he steadily walked towards Mack.

When Mack removed his blade from Victoria's throat to plant it against Diego's, Victoria was about to run away, but before she could reach Don Alejandro another pirate grabbed her.

"You gave your word," Diego said angrily.

"And I've kept it. I said** I** would let her go, I didn't mention that the rest of my crew would let her be. And besides, I hate to separate husband and wife," Mack said. "Come on mates lets go back to our ship."

A distressed Don Alejandro watched his only son and Victoria taken away on horseback by the pirates.

The Alcalde suppressed a smile. "They couldn't have chosen 2 better hostages," he thought to himself. "I can miss that troublemaking senorita and that de la Vega like tooth ache."

His pleasant thoughts were disturbed by don Alejandro's voice: "Alcalde what are your plans to free my son and Senorita Escalante?"

"Don't worry Don Alejandro I will send my best men," the Alcalde lied.

"I will have an assembly with the other dons, I'm sure they will help," Don Alejandro said while mounting his mare Dulcinea.

"Sergeant Mendoza!" the Alcalde yelled.

"Si mi Alcalde," Mendoza immediately reported

"I have a very important mission for you and Corporal. You two have to free Don Diego and Senorita Escalante. But make sure that you aren't seen by the pirates or otherwise they might kill them."

"Kill?" Mendoza swallowed hard, "We'll make sure nobody sees us." And with that said he quickly left on his mission.

The Alcalde smiled while stroking his beard: "Even a blind man would notice the clumsy Mendoza! This was going to work out wonderfully, and if the pirates killed Senorita Escalante Zorro would be furious and wouldn't rest until he caught the pirates. Zorro would be away at sea for a long time and maybe the pirates would even kill him!"

Diego regretted that the pirates were smart enough to put him and Victoria on separate mounts. He could easily escape, but he couldn't risk Victoria getting hurt. He looked at Victoria and saw her eyes wishfully scanning the horizon. No doubt she was expecting to see the silhouette of her masked hero appear any time to rescue them. If only she knew that her hero was riding a few metres behind her, with his hands and feet all bound up.

After half an hour they saw an impressive vessel in the water. Diego and Victoria were pulled roughly of their horses and were ordered into a rowing boat. All the while they were held at gun point.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Diego and Victoria were ordered to enter the ship via a drawbridge.

Victoria was held by two pirates and Diego was blindfolded and his feet and hands were bound. His hands were tied in every sense of the words. He couldn't do anything…

Once on the ship Mack pulled Diego's blindfold off, Diego squinted his eyes.

"What do you think of my Elizabeth, a nice ship isn't she?" Mack asked.

"I would be able to admire her better from shore," Diego's smart reply sounded.

Mack ignored Diego's remark and asked: "You say you are married, but I've noticed you don't wear wedding rings."

"Well we are newlyweds, we had to resize our rings," Diego lied.

"In that case I have the perfect kind of 'wedding rings' for the two of you," Mack said smirkingly.

Ryan a tall, muscular pirate, who exceeded Diego by two heads, dragged a chain with two cannon balls attached to it. The ropes on Diego's and Victoria's hands and feet were cut off and their ankles were shackled.

"Now you're truly united!" Mack laughed.

Victoria looked worriedly at Diego.

Mack saw her distressed expression and said: "Don't wrinkle your pretty little face; I will release you two when we're in open waters. You can use a rowing boat to peddle ashore.

But after Mack's last promise Diego didn't trust the pirate for one bit.

When the crew had brought the treasure chest on board, Mack ordered to lift the anchor and rig the sails.

Soon Diego and Victoria rapidly saw themselves getting further and further away from the coast. Suddenly the ship started rocking, Diego seized the moment and pretended to loose his balance he bumped hard against Ryan and swiftly removed the keys hanging on Ryan's belt. Diego managed to slip the keys into his sleeve just in time; a second later two strong arms lifted Diego on his feet again.

Diego smiled apologetically: "I guess I'm not used to life on a ship."

"Don't worry mate," Ryan replied and playfully ruffled Diego's hair. Victoria had to suppress a laugh.

Diego wasn't the only one who was knocked off his feet: nobody noticed the leaden trunk falling of the ship and sinking into the deep blue sea…

When no one was watching Diego quickly opened Victoria's shackle: "Jump, you're a good swimmer you can still make it to shore, I'll be behind you in a second," Diego whispered while he was about to unlock himself.

But suddenly a shrill: "Escape, escape!" echoed through the air.

It was the beautiful parrot Mack kept as a pet, and apparently also as a 'guard dog'.

Mack immediately aimed his pistol at Diego's heart: "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said threateningly.

Victoria, who had already lifted one leg over the ship's border, looked concerned at Diego.

"Go!" he insisted, "Save yourself; I can take care of myself."

"If you don't aspire to become a widow, I would suggest you immediately climb back on board!" Mack said to Victoria.

And in a second Victoria was back at Diego's side.

"It seems your wife truly loves you," Mack said, "Now let's see how much you love her."

Diego wished Victoria had jumped overboard; she would be standing safely on Los Angeles territory instead of on this pirate's ship.

"That wasn't very smart of you, trying to escape, I said I would release you when we were in open sea, all you had to do was to sit back and enjoy the ride. Because your lack of trust, as captain of this ship, I'm obliged to punish you two," Mack said.

"You can do with me as you please but I beg you to release my wife," Diego pleaded.

"Well that can be arranged," Mack said, "We will let your wife go if you are willing to sacrifice your life for her: we will bind your hands together and you'll have to jump into the sea…"

'So far this wasn't sounding too bad,' Diego thought to himself; he was a good swimmer he could swim without his arms.

But then Mack continued: "I forgot to mention a tiny detail; those cannonballs will stay attached to your ankle!"

The crew started cheering, finally something exciting was about to happen!

Mack ordered silence; "Do you have a last wish before you die?"

"Can I kiss my wife goodbye?" Diego asked.

"Of course you can," Mack said while the air was filled with oooowh and kissing sounds from the other pirates.

With tears in her eyes Victoria ran to Diego. Diego lifted his bound hands above Victoria's head so he could embrace her. He couldn't stand the sight of her crying, and after kissing away some tears on her cheeks he whispered in her ear: " I'm going to try to take one of your hairpins, so don't stop kissing me before I lower my hands to your back okay?"

She just nodded.

"Come on we don't have all day, are you going to kiss her or what?" an impatient Mack asked.

Diego gently brought his lips on hers. He quickly managed to take one of her hairpins. After securely clenching the hairpin into his fist, he lowered his hands onto her back. Their lips parted for a second or two but Victoria instantly recaptured Diego's lips. This time their kiss exploded from the passion harboured within the two of them. Diego could feel Victoria's fear and despair, and suddenly the confident caballero realised that this might really be their last kiss. So he pulled her closer and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. It felt wonderful to be able to hold Victoria in his arms and kiss her without a certain black mask as a constant boundary between them. For a moment he even forgot that they were held hostage but when a gunshot sounded he was pulled back to reality.

"I hate to break up a happy couple, but in a few minutes we will reach open waters; a perfect place to take a plunge," Mack said sarcastically.

Diego and Victoria were pulled apart. Diego refused to walk the plank until Victoria was safely in a rowing boat and had peddled ten metres away from the ship.

"Alright, we kept our part of the deal, now you have to keep yours!" Mack reminded Diego.

Diego observed his situation, six pirates held him at gunpoint and Ryan stood standby to give him a shove in the right direction. The parrot was circling above his head like a vulture above his prey; it clenched the keys firmly in its beak. So Diego decided his best option was to jump overboard..

He stepped willingly onto the plank, it bended under his weight.

"Well you got some spunk, I'll give you that. Any last words?" Mack asked.

"Just keep rowing no matter what happens," Diego said to Victoria.

And just before he jumped those tree words that he couldn't bring himself to say as Zorro, finally left his lips: "I love you."

While Diego was sinking rapidly, he instinctively looked above to see if Victoria was rowing out of reach of the pirates guns. But to his dismay he notices that the rowboat was just bobbing on the same spot.

"Ah she has always been stubborn, she wants to make sure if I can free myself," he thought to himself.

When he hit the bottom he immediately started to open the locks. And when the first one opened after only a few seconds he thanked the Lord that it had been a very hot day, even so hot that Victoria had decided to fasten her wild hair into a dot with hairpins, otherwise this sandy bottom of the sea might have been his last resting place.

___________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile on the deck of the pirate's ship Tom a ten year old raven haired boy, who earned his room and boarding by means of scrubbing the deck and all kind of other chores, had climbed onto the border to get a better look of the event. He had never seen someone walk the plank before, it was exciting but deep down he hoped that the caballero could free him self. He leaned forward and kept his balance by holding on to a dangling rope. Suddenly the rope snapped and Tom fell in the water. He had been living on sea for a few months now, and he thought he was becoming quite a pirate himself unfortunately he still had to learn one important thing: swimming. In a last attempt he started to move his arms and legs franticly but it was no use, just before his head went under for the last time, he managed to call for help.

__________________________________________________________________________

Soon Diego was swimming back to the surface. His plan was to swim to the rowing boat, stay out of sight until they were far enough away from the pirates and then climb into the rowing boat and return safely to Los Angeles with Victoria. But when he heard a plunge and a boy cry for help, he changed course and saved the boy from drowning. With his hands still bound and the extra weight of the boy he could never make it to Victoria so he had no choice than to swim back to the ship. They were pulled onboard by an astonished looking Bryan.

"Well it seems we have an escape artist on our ship," Mack said. "You're almost worthy enough to be called a fine pirate as myself. The only problem is that you have a weak heart, if you didn't save this useless boy you and your wife would be free," Mack continued.

At the mention of Victoria, Diego immediately searched for her rowing boat and panic seized him when he didn't spot it. Then he heard a familiar voice:

"Diego! Thank God you're alive!"

And Victoria wrapped her arms around her best friend with all the strength she could muster.

"Victoria," Diego just said.

Part of him was glad to be able to hold her in his arms again, but on the other hand he was disappointed that she didn't take the opportunity to escape; now they were stuck here again.

"Why did you come back?" he asked her.

"I didn't see you resurface so I peddled a few metres to the spot were you went under and before I knew it I was held at gunpoint and ordered to board the ship. The captain said that the deal was off," she replied.

"The deal's off?" Diego asked.

Mack who had heard the whole conversation said: "That's correct, you were supposed to sacrifice your life for hers and since you're still breathing, she stays our prisoner."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sky started to fill up with dark thunderclouds.

"It seems a big storm is coming up: women and children inside!" the pirate in the crow's-nest yelled and quickly descended on the deck again. With that lightening it was dangerous to be in the crow's nest.

Victoria was lead downstairs by Tom.

Tom brought her to a small room: "This will be your cabin Senora," Tom said. "I'm sorry for the mess, this is the chamber for the prisoners," he apologised.

"Don't worry, we will manage," Victoria knew it wasn't de boy's fault.

"I will see if I can find some clean blankets," Tom said and left Victoria.

Due to the thick fog just above the water surface, Mack couldn't see which direction he had to steer.

"Someone has to go back to the crows nest, there are a lot of rocks here, and I don't want to crash. Who wants to volunteer?" Mack asked.

Just then a lightening struck a few metres bellow the crow's nest, a few climbing bars were destroyed. Now there was a big gap from about a metre or two between the last climbing bar and the crow's nest.

"On second thought I will need a tall climber," Mack said.

His eyes scanned his crew and rested upon Ryan, but Ryan was far too heavy to climb into the mast.

"I volunteer!" an excited pirate called Sven with one wooden leg said, he had replaced his wooden leg by a large broom so that he would be taller. With his healthy leg he stood on an empty wine barrel.

"No cheating," Mack said while he kicked the barrel away, Sven fell on the hard floor.

Mack continued scanning his crew, and this time he noticed a tall and slender man; "You!" he said, "you will climb the mast."

Diego looked left and right to make sure Mack meant him, but since the two pirates who flanked him only reached just above his hip, he was sure he had to be.

Diego took his jacket off; the tight caballero outfit wasn't that handy to climb, he regretted he wasn't wearing Zorro's loose and comfortable clothing.

"Hurry up I think were approaching the rocks!" the steering man said.

Diego started his climb, he advanced rapidly. He was glad Victoria wasn't watching, now he didn't have to hide his abilities, otherwise she would easily guess he was her masked hero. He hoped that their kiss hadn't given him away. But Victoria had acted normally when she saw him again. She must have been too distressed to notice the resemblance with his kiss and those of her masked hero.

When he reached the gap, he stood on the last available bar and stretched his arms, but since he couldn't reach the next, he had to jump, he jumped and easily reached the bar but then it happened; the bar cracked and Diego fell.

Just in time he managed to grab the pole between his legs. He was hanging upside down, he saw all the pirates looking at him in awe. He quickly contracted his abdomen muscles, and lifted his torso upright again so he could encircle the mast with his arms. He climbed like a koala bear till he reached good bars and soon he reached the crow's nest.

Thanks to Diego's guidance, the Elizabeth safely passed the treacherous waters. When Diego was back with his two feet on the ground, his feet were instantly in the air again. He was lifted on the shoulders of the pirates.

"Tree hurrahs for Diego!" the pirates yelled.

Only one pirate didn't join his mates, it was Sven he was still rubbing his sore buttocks and looked jealously at Diego.

"Sven, escort our hero of the day back to his wife!" Mack ordered.

So Diego followed Sven downstairs.

Victoria who heard all the commotion was about to go on deck to check on Diego when she and Diego almost bumped into each other.

"I was just about to look for you," Victoria said while her eyes lingered a little longer than appropriate on Diego's wet shirt before quickly lowering her gaze.

"They were just bringing me to you," Diego explained. "The weather is calming down, we should be fine," he reassured her.

"You can chit chat in your sleep bunk; we **real** pirates still have a lot of work to do!" Sven said while he gave Diego a shove in the right direction.

When Diego and Victoria were inside Sven securely bolted the door.

Diego scanned the room he was disappointed to see that there was only one small sleeping place.

Victoria, who must have understood his concerns, lay with her back against the wall, so that there was room for another person to lie next to her.

She patted on the bed and said: "You must be tired, come to bed."

"I will sleep on the floor," Diego immediately said.

He was about to settle himself on the floor but he hesitated when he noticed how filthy the floor was.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not letting you sleep in that mess," Victoria said.

"And besides you told everyone that we're married, so it's perfectly normal to share a bed with your wife," she continued teasingly.

"I didn't say that so we could share a room," Diego felt like he had to justify himself.

"I thought you would be safer if they thought you were a married woman," Diego explained.

"Ah I see," Victoria said.

Victoria sat upright on the bed.

"Don Alejandro must have been shocked when he heard you claim that we're married. Do you think the citizens of Los Angeles believed it?" she asked.

"I'm sure they know it was just a failed attempt of mine to free you," Diego assured her.

He sensed something was bothering his beloved one.

"Ah that's good," she said.

The relief in her voice was almost tangible.

'She must find it horrible to pretend to be a married couple; maybe she was a bit worried that the citizens of Los Angeles would demand we get married,' he thought to himself.

"Don't worry, you don't have to marry me in real life, and if we're lucky we don't have to continue this charade much longer," Diego assured her.

"It's not that I mind playing your wife," she said blushingly

"It's just…" she started but hesitated to continue.

"What's the matter, you know you can tell me anything," Diego said.

"I was wondering why Zorro didn't come to our rescue. I thought that maybe he heard that we got married and that he was angry with me," she finally managed to say.

"I'm sure Zorro knows that you would never marry another, and he knows I'm no competition for him. Don't worry I would bet my life on it that at this moment Zorro is thinking about you and will try everything to get us back to Los Angeles," Diego said.

"Oh Diego you're a true friend," Victoria said while she grabbed Diego's hand and gave it a grateful squeeze.

"Oh my, you're freezing!" Victoria exclaimed.

"I would be a terrible wife, you have been listening patiently to my troubles, and I didn't even notice you're still wearing those wet clothes. Let's get you out of those clothes before you catch a cold," Victoria said.

"I'm fine," Diego said.

The words had just left his lips when he started sneezing uncontrollably.

"I can see that," Victoria said sarcastically and started to unbutton his shirt, Diego's hands immediately stopped her.

"I can manage," he said and took off his shirt; he was searching a blanket to cover himself.

Victoria must have understood what he was looking for; she gave him a blanket: "Tom, the boy you saved could only find one blanket."

"In that case I can't accept it, you take it," Diego said while he returned the blanket.

"The blanket is big enough for the both of us," Victoria said and went to lie back on the bed.

Diego sighed; surviving the night was going to be more difficult then fighting a dozen of pirates.

Diego lay as far as possible from Victoria. One of his legs dangled out of the bed.

He had convinced Victoria that he wasn't cold anymore, and he had wrapped the blanket around her, to create at least a tiny barrier between them. He regretted there wasn't a bench to place between them like in the abandoned windmill (episode one special night).

He felt Victoria's eyes scrutinizing his bare back; he suddenly remembered the small jagged scar on his lower back where Zorro was once stabbed with a knife.

So he quickly turned on his other side and said: "I always sleep on my right side."

Victoria looked surprised when she suddenly found her face only a few inches from Diego's muscled chest.

He instantly lowered himself so that he was on eye level.

The sea was a little rough, the waves clashed against the ship, the vessel rocked to Diego's side. Victoria bumped into Diego and landed on top of him.

Diego instinctively put one protective arm around Victoria to keep her from falling out of the bed. With his other arm he grabbed a rope that was attached to the wall.

"We better stay in this position, I reckon it's more stabile," Diego said.

So the two friends spend the night entwined in each others arms.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Author's note:__ First of all I want to apologise for taken so long to update my story. I was very busy with my studies etc… but I hope that I find the time to finish this story. I also want to thank Fanta for beta reading for me. Thanks to all the reviewers for encouraging me to continue._

Although she was held prisoner by pirates, Victoria had slept wonderful. The reason of her peaceful night was lying underneath her. Her dear friend had held her all night, making her feel safe and protected. If she would have been alone, she wouldn't dare to close her eyes, no she would have stayed up all night , listening carefully if one of the pirates was coming to her cabin.

'Luckily Diego is here with me,' she thought to herself. Being awake she should probably brake away from his embrace. Otherwise her proper friend might feel uncomfortable, waking up half naked with his childhood friend enveloped in his arms. However she couldn't bring herself to move. Relishing the warmth of his bare torso, she laid her head back on Diego's chest. By the even rise and fall, she concluded he was still fast asleep. Delighted she could enjoy this moment a little longer she sighed contently.

'Being kidnapped by pirates certainly has it's perks,' she mused.

'Normally at this hour I would have already prepared the dough for my bread. It's nice to sleep in for a change. The accommodation could have been better, but who cares when the company is this good,' she thought smilingly.

But she didn't have a lot of time to sleep late..

A soft knocking on the door awoke Diego. Victoria immediately extracted herself from Diego's embrace.

"Good morning," a still sleepy Diego said to Victoria.

Smiling, Victoria wished him the same.

They heard the sound of a key turning around in the lock, the door opened with a loud squeak.

Instinctively Diego raised him in front of his preciosa, creating a barrier between her and the possible intruder. However when he saw the blond hairs of Tom poking around the door he instantly lay down is guard.

"The Captain is expecting you for breakfast at his cabin," the young boy announced.

"We'll be there in a second," a surprised Victoria replied.

When the lad left them and didn't even bother to lock the door, an even more amazed Victoria said to Diego: "It seems pirates treat their prisoners very kindly, we even get to eat with the captain."

"Yes it appears they have warmed up to us," Diego stated and followed Victoria upstairs.

"Ah welcome, I hope you had a nice night," Mack greeted them warmly.

"Yes it was fine," Diego replied although he hadn't closed an eye that night. Sleeping while the love of your life is lying in your arms appeared to be rather difficult. Recollecting previous night made a blush creep up his cheeks.

Oblivious to the effect his innocent question had on the young don, Mack invited the couple at his table: "Please take a seat," the bronzed pirate invited while he gallantly pulled a chair for Victoria.

Soon they were having breakfast. It wasn't particularly good tasting but it was food, and seeing all the other hungry pirates staring at them through the circular windows, patiently waiting until it was their turn to eat, they knew they had to be very grateful for this meal.

"Thank you that was delicious," Victoria lied, she didn't want to offend the man's hospitality.

"Well our cook does his best, but we could use a woman's touch," the Captain admitted.

"I could cook," Victoria suggested.

"That would be great, if you really want to, I don't want to force you anyway," Mack said.

Diego saw Victoria's shocked expression, she was probably wondering why all of a sudden they were no longer treated as prisoners but rather as guests. He couldn't tell her about his little performance of yesterday. It was important she didn't link the words 'hero' and 'dull friend' with each other. Hopefully she wouldn't ask Mack, being the curious woman she had always been.

"We are your prisoners; you have forced us to do things against our will before; why would you stop now?" Victoria dared to asked.

"My dear, you aren't our prisoners any longer. Without your husband my Elisabeth would be lying on the bottom of this ocean covered by plankton. There is no greater act than saving a ship! So we regard you as pirates. You're lucky we're modern pirates we don't think of women are bad omen; you can consider yourself the first female pirate of the world," Mack told her.

"Well… Victoria always strives for equality between men and women, she will be pleased with this title," Diego quickly replied. With a bit of luck her being donned a pirate would make her forget about him saving the whole vessel.

"We better make room so the rest can eat, "Diego suggested and left the table. Victoria followed his example.

"Did you really save the ship?" Victoria asked him.

"It was nothing really, I was tall enough to climb over a few broken ladder bars," Diego tried to minimise his actions.

"It must have been something, otherwise we wouldn't be treated as heroes," Victoria countered.

"You know how emotional a captain gets when he thinks his ship might sink, he exaggerated last night's events, that's all," he tried to convince her.

When the crew was done eating, Mack Crow announced the would finally open the treasure chest!

"Come let's open our treasure chest and share the loot," the Captain said.

"Arrr it seems we have a tiny little problem captain," Sven groaned.

"And what might that be?" Mack asked slightly irritated.

"The treasure has disappeared, it must have fallen of the ship during the storm," Sven admitted.

"You stupid, I told you to store the trunk bellow. You know what this means don't you?" Mack asked while he went in his cabin to fetch something.

Diego had witnessed the whole conversation and was looking worried at the doorway the angry captain had passed through a moment ago. What was Mack going to do? He was surely going to punish Sven. He hoped Mack didn't fetch a whip or another torture item.

To Diego's surprise Mack didn't return with a knife or some other weapon, instead he held a periscope carefully in his hands, carrying as if it were a new born baby.

"What is he going to do with the periscope?" Diego asked one of the pirates.

The only answer Diego received was a "shhh" accompanied by a silencing finger.

While Mack was scanning the horizon using his periscope the whole crew watched in silence.

The silence was only broken by the captain who gave some directions to the steering man.

After sailing a short while Mack suddenly yelled: "This is the spot, set anchor!"

"I don't see anything," Victoria whispered to Diego.

"Me neither," Diego replied.

"The captain uses his periscope to locate all our treasures, since the trunk fell off board, Mack has located another treasure. I hope it will be gold," Tom whispered to the two newcomers. He was glad he knew something the intelligent caballero didn't understand.

Obeying their captain's order, two pirates immediately dove into the water with two ropes. For a few minutes, they disappeared underwater. Diego wondered how on earth they would find another treasure on such an incredible, farfetched call from their Captain. When the men finally tugged on the rope, Mack ordered them to be pulled up. The ropes squeaked under the weight that was attached to them. To Diego's and Victoria's surprise a big golden statue was pulled on board.

"How did you locate that treasure?" Diego enquired.

"I just look through the periscope, then I see where the treasure lies, but this time I was lucky that the treasure was nearby, sometimes we have to sail miles until we reach the location," Mack explained.

"So the periscope is some sort of treasure locator?" Diego asked disbelievingly.

The handsome pirate didn't answer but just handed the periscope to Diego.

Looking through the object the caballero said: "I only see a beautiful dolphin, but no treasure."

"That's because the periscope isn't a treasure locator, it is a tool to help you find what's most important to you. To me the treasure is the most important, you seem to find nature and its beautiful creatures more important than money and gold," the captain clarified.

"Ah I understand, it shows you the essence and filters out the subordinate matters," Diego concluded while he was carefully scrutinising the amazing object, trying to discover it's secret.

"I knew you were a clever one!" Mack smiled while he proudly patted the young don on the back and retrieved the periscope from Diego.

__________

_Meanwhile in Los Angeles_

Jaime Mendoza hadn't closed an eye last night. Yesterday's horrible events ran rampage in the good Sergeant's mind just like the fierce storm that stroke Los Angeles. Images of his two friends being taken hostage kept flashing through his head like the lighting outside.

At dawn the guilty Mendoza walked back to shore. Pieces of draft wood, seaweed, dead jelly fish and other debris covered the sand, evidence of the horrible storm.

'I have failed, because of me Senorita Escalante and Don Diego might be dead,' Mendoza thought to himself while he walked through the rubbish.

Frustrated, he kicked his foot in the water; "Aaw!" the sergeant yelled out in pain.

He was still rubbing his sore toe when he noticed the source of his agony; it was the treasure chest the pirates had taken from the pueblo.

Just that instant Ignacio who was patrolling the coastline after a very angry and influential don had threatened to send word to the King himself, if didn't retrieved his son and a certain señorita..

"I'm sorry mi Alcalde, no sign of Don Diego and Señorita Escalante; I only managed to find the treasure," the disappointed sergeant said.

"Excellent job sergeant!" the Alcalde exclaimed his eyes glinting with the thought of all the gold.

"Haven't you heard what I said; we lost Don Diego and Señorita Escalante," a confused Mendoza repeated.

"I heard you the first time, their loss is a minor sacrifice in the battle against piracy, we have their treasure and therefore we have weakened the pirates," the Alcalde explained.

"Now carry the trunk to the carriage and bring it to my office," he ordered.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Back in his office the Alcalde couldn't wait to open the treasure chest.

'Finally I will have a good story to tell in Madrid,' he thought to himself.

When he couldn't open the chest and behold its shiny contents he yelled in frustation: "Mendoza!"

"Si mi Alcalde," Mendoza reported.

"You may have the honour of opening the treasure," The Alcalde didn't want to admit he couldn't open a simple wooden trunk.

Mendoza tried to lift the lid, however it didn't move an inch.

"It seems to be stuck, maybe we need some kind of key to open it," the Sergeant suggested.

"A key! Do you see a lock?" the Alcalde said mockingly.

After inspecting the trunk closely Mendoza concluded: "No, the only thing I see are these engraved decorations…"

"I don't care for decorations I want to see the gold. Let's go to the blacksmith and have him break the trunk open," Ignacio suggested.

So they headed for the blacksmith. However all the blacksmith's tools didn't suffice to open the treasury. There wasn't even a tiny scratch on the wooden lid.

"I'm sorry Alcalde, I can't open it," the blacksmith concluded, while wiping the transpirations drops off his forehead. .

"Ahh, you're all incompetent fools," the Alcalde growled.

This couldn't be happening, finally he had something to show in Madrid a real pirate's treasure, but now he couldn't open it. He suddenly felt like a little boy, glancing at the cookie jar, standing so close he could almost taste them. But young Ignacio didn't have money like the other caballero's sons to buy these sweets. Being poor had taught him that you have to take what you want, since no one is going to hand it to you on a plate. So whenever no one was looking, he would quickly open the jar and take a handful of cookies.

If only it were that easy with the treasure chest. He just had to open the lid, but how could he do that?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_This chapter isn't really good, I will probably change it when I find the time but since I haven't posted a new chapter for ages I thought it's better to post something (not so good) than nothing ;-) I hope you agree. I also want to thank everyone for those nice reviews_

Victoria amazed everyone; she conjured up delicious meals with basic ingredients. Diego helped the pirates while Victoria was busy in the kitchen. This gave him the opportunity to use all his skills fully not having to worry that Victoria would notice any resemblances with her masked hero. Diego made sure the other pirates didn't mention his work to Victoria.

Mack was watching the young don with admiration. Diego was fencing with the captain's most skilled pirate. The clever skipper immediately saw that however Diego was winning with ease he wasn't demonstrating all his tricks. No this talented lad was holding back. He could tell it although Diego seemed to have mastered the art of concealing his abilities. 'What a strange man, most men would like to show their talents to others especially their wife,' the pirated mused. And the explanation Diego had given that Victoria would be worried if she knew he was working, fencing with the crew, didn't convince the captain. There was something fishy about this lad and he was going to find it out!

Mack had promised he would sail them to Costa Mesa, a coast town 200 miles from Los Angeles. Time flew by and soon they were enjoying their last meal together.

When their meal had ended it was already late, the sky was clear and the full moon lighted the sky.

"Mmm!," one of the pirates exclaimed while he licked his plate clean, "this is the most delicious food I've ever eaten!"

"I agree, are you sure the two of you don't want to stay with us, we've become such good friends," Mack suggested with a shaky voice. Anyone could tell the though captain was having a hard time.

"I always hate saying goodbye," Mack sniffed while blowing his nose loudly in a dirty handkerchief.

Tom looked surprised at the crying captain. He had never seen the though captain breakdown like a little baby.

Mack who saw the shocked expression on the young boys face blew his nose one more time, braced himself and explained: "Don't ever let anyone tell you a man shouldn't cry, a real man is one that's man enough to show his feelings."

"Ah I almost forgot, we have a goodbye present for you," the emotional pirate announced while he fetched a small sachet. He handed it over to Diego: "Open it," he insisted.

Diego opened the bag and let the content fall in the palm of his hand. Two golden wedding rings glinted in the moonlight.

"Thank you very much, you shouldn't have," Diego thanked the Captain.

Diego was about to slip the smallest ring on Victoria's ring finger when Mack stopped him.

"Wait, let's hold a small ceremony," he suggested and stepped enthusiastically to the bow of the ship. Diego and Victoria followed him. Mack motioned them to take place in front of him and the rest of the pirates stood around the couple.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the pirate wedding of Victoria and Diego," Mack proudly announced.

"Do you Victoria Escalante take Diego de la Vega to be your mate for life in calm sea and stormy weather 'til the ocean buries your bones in her depths?" he asked.

"I do," Victoria said. She glanced nervously at Diego before gluing her eyes back on her feet.

"And do you Diego de la Vega take Victoria Escalante as your wife? Will you be her anchor when life gets rough? Will you be her compass when she has lost her way?"

"I will," Diego answered without hesitation.

He hoped that one day he would be able to say those words in church before his father and friends and be legally wed to Victoria.

"Look closely at each other and realise that the greatest treasure of the whole world is standing right in front of you," Mack explained.

"With the power vested in me I declare you soulmates for life and even death won't do you apart. Even a thousand miles won't put a distance between you two, all you have to do is look at the moon. The moon has the power to turn the tide and bring you back together.

Ah I almost forgot; you can kiss your other half!" the captain finally announced.

The pirates cheered when Diego swiftly kissed Victoria.

They feasted 'til sunrise.

"Land ahead!" the pirate in the crow nest announced.

A few minutes later the Elisabeth set anchor a short distance from shore.

"I'm going to miss you two," Mack admitted.

"We'll never forget our pirate friends," Diego promised.

"Before you go I want to talk with you in private," Mack said.

Diego and Victoria followed him downstairs.

"Would you take Tom with you?" the straightforward pirate immediately cut to the point.

"Of course, we would, a pirate ship isn't a place for a young boy," Diego replied.

"Yes, I know that," the captain admitted.

"I will take him to my home back in Los Angeles," the kind hearted caballero assured the pirate.

Victoria loved this about her friend, he had a heart of gold. She was sure he was planning to give the boy a place at the De La Vega household as he had done with a young Felipe.

"No that's not what I meant, I want you to bring him to Costa Mesa and reunite him with his father," Mack explained.

"His father? I thought he was a pirate?" Victoria asked surprised.

"That's what the boy thinks. No, his father is a fisherman," the pirate revealed.

Seeing the questioning looks he started to explain: "A few years ago Tom lived with his mother and father in a small coast village in the surroundings of Los Angeles.

His father John was a poor fisherman. He worked very hard at sea, while his wife Sara took care of the household, Tom and sold the fresh caught fish at the market.

They managed to tie the ends, but then it happened; Sara got sick and without money for a doctor she tragically died.

John tried to manage without his wife, he didn't have the money to hire a household help to look after Tom, so he took the boy with him on sea.

All went good for a while. However it was only a matter of time before the sometimes fierce ocean literally threw his plans in the water.

One stormy night Tom was knocked overboard and almost drowned. Seeing no other option John left Tom at the mission with the orphans. He couldn't live with the fact he had to abandon his son, he purposely sailed to a dangerous spot. His tiny vessel didn't stand a chance and wrecked against the sharp rocks. He almost drowned but luckily we had just 'visited' a neighbouring town to gather our supplies when we saved him.

We gave him a 'ride' back to his village and gave him a golden amulet. He gave it to the priests at the mission and said they should give it to his son, then he left with us on our ship and asked us to bring him to Costa Mesa. There he would start over as a fisherman and when he had earned enough money and had a nice house to raise his son he would go back and fetch Tom. Apparently he never made it back," Mack concluded his story.

"Why haven't you told Tom this?" Diego asked.

"The boy must have gotten the amulet and concluded his father was a pirate, when he asked if I knew his father and I replied affirmative he was ecstatic. I couldn't bare to shatter his dream. How could I tell him his father wasn't a brave legendary pirate but just a poor fisherman," Mack explained his actions.

"I think you should tell him now," Diego suggested.

"No, I can't. It's better you only tell him when you really found his father. We don't know how his situation is, heck we don't even know if he's still alive," the Captain countered.

"You do have a point," the educated don admitted.

"How do we however persuade Tom to abandon his new pirate family and accompany us?" Diego asked.

"Leave that to me," the mysterious pirate said while they returned to deck.

"I need a courageous, intelligent pirate to escort Victoria and Diego to Costa Mesa," Mack announced.

Tom had become friends with the newcomers. Victoria reminded him of his lost mother. So when he heard the Captains announcement he saw the opportunity to spend some more time with his new friends.

"I'm strong and smart. I'll safely bring them to town," the young boy declared proudly.

Mack had to suppress a smile, he knew the boy would jump on this opportunity: "Very well, you are assigned with this important task."

Smiling broadly Tom said goodbye to the pirates and stepped into the rowing boat that would bring them to shore. Extending Victoria his hand, as a real gentleman he helped her on the wobbling vessel.

Victoria had just stepped into the rowing boat when Mack handed her his periscope; "Take it you need it more than I do."

"I can't accept this, how are you going to find your treasures?" Victoria asked.

"Don't worry my dear, the periscope always finds its way back to me, I'm merely lending it to you," the mysterious pirate assured her.

Victoria looked at him disbelievingly but kindly accepted the gift. She knew Diego was very intrigued by the object. Now he would have a chance to examine it more closely. Maybe her intelligent friend would find some answers. He would surely produce some kind of scientific explanation. For Victoria not everything had to be explained by science. As a child she believed in magical creatures like fairies. Maybe this periscope was really a magical object. The child in her hoped that Diego for once wouldn't find a solution. She liked some mystery in her life.


End file.
